FAQ:
Q: What is the purpose of alt.tv.newsradio?
A: The purpose of Newsradio Usenet is to provide a forum to discuss issues relating to the Newsradio. You can ask questions, make observations on the show, or just browse the newsgroup and read the posts of others.
Q: What can I post in Newsradio Usenet?
A: You can post anything you want in Newsradio Usenet, but only so much of what you say is considered to be acceptable. Flames and trolls are not very well tolerated in the newsgroup and some of the people in Usenet will show absolutely no mercy to those who choose to flame and troll.
Any post that is relevant to the Newsradio is considered to be acceptable discussion. The most common threads in Usenet usually refer to show news and rumors that have been circulating the Newsradio. However, you can start or respond to any thread in Usenet as you see fit.
Q: Am I required to participate in Newsradio Usenet after I have accessed it?
A: Of course not! You can just browse the comments of others if you do not feel like posting a message. However, the people in Newsradio Usenet are always looking for people who know Newsradio very well and have some interesting comments to share about the show. If you have something to say about the Newsradio, feel free to say it, as long as it is not a deliberate attempt to flame the show or its fans. However, constructive criticism is acceptable.
Q: Okay, I've posted a message to the newsgroup. How come it doesn't show up in the list of subject lines?
A: A post to a newsgroup does not necessarily show up instantaneously. Once a post is sent to the news server, the news server has to find the newsgroup that it was intended for, and then post your message to the correct newsgroup. While this process usually takes between a matter of seconds to a few minutes to complete, there may be sometimes be an added delay due to the unpredictable nature of the Usenet and the Internet in general. If your message still doesn't show up after 10-15 minutes have passed and you have refreshed your news reading window, contact the administrator of your news server.
Q: What are the meanings of those strange acronyms I see being used by some of the people that post in Newsradio Usenet?
A: Acronyms and abbreviations are commonly seen throughout Usenet. They are used to help simplify and/or shorten a message. In other words, it is known as a form of Internet shorthand. Here are some common acronyms used in Newsradio Usenet:
AFAIC - As Far As I'm Concerned
AFAIK - As Far As I Know
IIRC - If I Recall Correctly
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
IMO - In My Opinion
IOW - In Other Words
FWIW - For What It's Worth
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
OTOH - On The Other Hand
ROTFLMAO - Rolling On The Floor, Laughing My Ass Off
TID - Thread Is Dead/Deteriorated/Dissipated
- Grin
Q: Someone in the newsgroup is being very obnoxious. What can I do?
A: There are three approaches to this problem. You can killfile the offender, forward their post to their mail admistrator, or you can respond back by e-mail and/or the newsgroup to the offender.
It is generally not recommended for you to respond back to the offending party, since you can't be too sure about the nature of the other person. In particular, it is especially not recommended to reply via e-mail, because you may be mail bombed or given a denial of service (cut off your Internet connection and force you to reboot your computer to regain it) attack. However, it is only human nature to defend what we believe in and as long as you don't do something beyond the realms of obscenity which may provoke undesirable behavior, feel free to stand up for yourself. Try to settle things tactfully and if that fails, then try the other two approaches discussed below. You may also fight back with some comments in retortion, but just try not to start a flame war and avoid obscenities if possible.
A more cautious and less frustrating approach is to put the offending party in your killfile, if such a feature is available with your news reader. This will prevent any posts from that person to show up on your computer and you can continue to post in the newsgroup as usual. You will only see the comments of the killfiled party when another person in the newsgroup who is not in your killfile responds to the post of the person that you have killfiled and leaves the text of the killfiled party intact. This is usually the easiest and least frustrating approach, but some people are bothered by the possibility of someone talking "behind their back" while that person is killfiled.
To forward someone's posting to their mail adminstrator is an unreliable approach if the offender uses a fake e-mail address to post in the newsgroup. However, doing this may sometimes be very effective. The mail adminstrator would read the complaint and the message the offender posted and may take action, such as suspending the offender's Internet priviledges. Generally, the method is write a short notice of complaint and to include a copy of the offending newsgroup posting, with all the header information, to one of the following e-mail addresses:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Where "ispname" represents the name of the Internet Service Provider. In other words, the second half of the e-mail address following the "@" sign. As an example, if the offender's e-mail address is "[email protected]", you forward the offending message to "[email protected]" or "[email protected]". Again, please note that some people may use a fake e-mail address, so you may or may not be able to recognize the "ispname" as one that is legitimate. Make sure to remove any anti-spam measures taken in the "ispname.com" part of the message. Some of these anti-spam measures are obvious, while others are not.
Q: I keep getting spam in my mailbox and I suspect it's because of my activity in the newsgroups. What can I do?
A: There is no simple solution to spam. Many people, if not all, still receive some spam in their mailbox, regardless of what measures they take. However, to reduce the amount of spam that you may get in the future, try these two simple solutions.
The first thing you can try is to change your e-mail address in your news reader's preferences when you post in a newsgroup. For example, if your e-mail address is "[email protected]", you can try changing your e-mail address to something with an anti-spam measure attached on it. One example would be "[email protected]". When you ask people to reply to your messages, mention the following line at the end of your posts to the newsgroup:
Please remove (anti-spam measure) to reply via e-mail. In the above example, "nospam.4.u." would be the anti-spam measure.
Never post your real e-mail address anywhere in your message if you want to cut down on the spam you get. Spam-bots (programs that search for e-mail addresses to send spam to) will catch any text in the header and body of your post, with the @ symbol in it. Therefore, if you mention, "Reply to [email protected]" at the end of your post, a spam-bot could still possibly send you spam mail. Also, some spam-bots now seek for a "nospam." in an e-mail address and delete it before sending spam. Therefore, it is important to be creative when designing your anti-spam measure in your e-mail address.
The other thing you could do is get a second e-mail address that you use only for newsgroup correspondence. You can get a secondary e-mail address for free from several places on the Internet which will allow you to store any e-mail that you get for that address on their servers. When you post to a newsgroup, you can set your news reader's preferences to display your secondary e-mail address instead of your normal e-mail address. Now if you receive any spam from newsgroups, it will be sent to your secondary e-mail address and not your primary one. Companies which offer free e-mail accounts include Hotmail, NET@DDRESS, and Mail.com.
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General Guidelines
Newsradio Usenet is not a moderated newsgroup. There is no "boss", per se. Nobody can stop you from posting flames or trolling. However, in the best interests of all the Newsradio fans who do participate in the newsgroup, we hope that you can keep the conversations civilized. Try to follow these general guidelines to help make the experience in Newsradio Usenet as pleasant as possible for everyone.
* When posting, please include a topic for your post. This will allow other people who read the newsgroup to have an idea of your topic of discussion when they browse the headings.
* Refrain from typing in ALL CAPS. It is the equivalent of shouting on the Internet. If you must use ALL CAPS, please use it sparingly in your posting. An occassional word or phrase emphasized in captials is okay, but not an entire paragraph or post.
* Try to refrain from posting messages to the newsgroup by abusing the powers HTML formatted e-mail and news postings. HTML formatted e-mail is a feature found in many of the latest e-mail clients and news readers. While you may include very basic HTML such as bold, italicized, and underlined text in your posts, DO NOT post messages in high-contrast colors, large font sizes, and designer fonts. For most people who post, this is not a concern because their e-mail clients and news readers will not default to sending HTML e-mail.
* Be aware that many kids have access to Usenet and Newsradio Usenet. With this in mind, try not to swear too much. This guideline is very loosely enforced and most instances of swearing will be ignored or disregarded. However, try not to make it a habit or set a bad example. Few people, if any, will make an issue out of it, but those who swear like a lunatic will have little, if any credibility or respect from the other posters in the newsgroup.
* The purpose of Newsradio Usenet is to voice your comments about the Newsradio. It is not a place for you to bash and flame it. DO NOT post words such as "F***."
* Those who choose to ignore the above guidelines completely and post in an obnoxious fashion will either be flamed, killfiled, and/or reported to their ISP.
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